Supplemental sensory input/output for accessibility

Abstract

A method for a user to control a peripheral device includes soliciting input from a user through assistive technology, receiving input from the user in response to soliciting, and executing a job generated from the input.

1 . A method for controlling a peripheral device comprising:
 soliciting input from a user through assistive technology;   receiving input from the user in response to said soliciting; and   executing a job generated from said input.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said soliciting input comprises prompting the user to enter input. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the assistive technology is an interactive voice response system. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving an activation signal from the user. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the activation signal is an off-hook headset signal. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the activation signal is a signal from a connected portable auxiliary device. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the auxiliary device is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the input is one or more alphanumeric characters representing one or more desired functions, instructions, parameters or attributes. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the input is a delimiter character. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the received input is valid. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 providing a first indication for valid received input; and   providing a second indication for invalid received input.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the job comprises a request to perform a function and one or more attributes, instructions or parameters. 
   
   
       13 . A method for controlling a peripheral device equipped with assistive technology, comprising:
 soliciting input from a user through a wizard;   determining whether the received input is valid;   receiving a completion indication from the user through a response to the wizard; and   executing a job in response to the received completion indication.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the wizard is a script of interactive audible requests. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the interactive audible requests are synthetic voice prompts. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the input comprises one or more alphanumeric characters representing one or more peripheral device functions and associated attributes, instructions or parameters. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said determining comprises verifying that received input represents valid peripheral device functions and associated attributes, instructions or parameters. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising signaling in response to said determining. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said signaling comprises:
 a first indication signifying valid received input; and   a second indication signifying invalid received input.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the completion indication is a special function key on the peripheral device.